[news] Sunset Rubdown Bassist Struck by Lightning

You've been... Thunderstruck!

Terrible, yet shockingly amazing news from Sunset Rubdown (pun definitely intended): Marc "The Nuc" Nicol has apparently survived a lightning strike while on tour. Pictured above is the insane scar left behind from the 30,000+ amps jolt. Posted today by the band's label Jagjaguwar, The Nuc was reportedly "enjoying a lovely lakeside evening when - BLAMMO - Mother Nature sucker-punched the bassist by sending a cascade of electrical spitfire from the heavens straight into his back."

According to The Nuc:

"My heart started back up after the electrical shock. I woke up feeling like I was suffocating and was delirious. Then I passed out for an hour, woke back up and saw the hair singed on my leg. Only then I knew."

Luckily for all, he's ok, and still jamming with the gang. Check out more tour dates below, along with my favorite song off their new album, Dragonslayer.

09-02 Groningen, The Netherlands – Vera
09-03 Malmo, Sweden – Debaser Malmo
09-04 Gothenburg, Sweden – Parken
09-05 Stockholm, Sweden – Strand
09-06 Copenhagen, Denmark – Loppen
09-07 Hamburg, Germany – Knust
09-08 Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Paradiso
09-10 Glasgow, Great Britian – Stereo
09-11 Belfast, Great Britain – Spring & Airbrake
09-12 Dulbin, Ireland – Crawdaddy
09-13 Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
09-14 Manchester, Great Britain – The Deaf Institute
09-15 London, Great Britain – Garage
09-16 Cardiff, Great Britain – The Globe
09-18 Oostende, Belgium – Leffingeleuren Festival
09-19 Brussels, Belgium – Botanique w/ Dirty Projectors
09-20 Berlin, Germany – Magnet Club
09-21 Leipzig, Germany – Ut Connewitz
09-22 Munchen, Germany – 59:1
09-23 Vienna, Austria – B72
09-24 Zagreb, Croatia – KSET
09-25 Ljubljana, Slovenia – Menza Pri Koritu
09-26 Pisa, Italy – Caracol
09-27 Carpi, Italy – Mattatoio
09-29 Rorschach, Switzerland – Mariaberg
09-30 Lille, France – L’Aeronef
10-01 Paris, France – Point FMR
10-16 New York, NY – Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom
10-17 Baltimore, MD – Sonar
10-18 Columbus, OH – The Summit
10-19 Chicago, IL – Logan Square Auditorium
10-20 Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
10-21 St. Louis, MO – Off Broadway Nightclub
10-22 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
10-24 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
10-26 San Francisco, CA – Slim’s
10-27 West Hollywood, CA – The Troubadour
10-30 Tokyo, Japan – O-NEST
11-01 Kyoto, Japan – Club Metro
11-02 Osaka, Japan – Sunsui
11-04 Matsumoto, Japan – Alecx
11-05 Nagoya, Japan – Tokuzo
11-06 Tokyo, Japan – O-NEST

[new music] Blitzen Trapper - Black River Killer EP

New EP from Blitzen Trapper

For the many lucky fans who were able to catch Blitzen Trapper on tour while they covered North America, you may have purchased a CDR at the merchandise table which contained six previously unreleased songs. For those who didn't manage it, now you can feast your ears on those tunes which have been packaged together along with the disturbingly sweet "Black River Killer." This amazing track first appeared on the band's 2008 LP Furr, and is now getting its very own release as the title track of a 7-song EP. You can pick up a copy of the Black River Killer EP here at SubPop - I highly recommend it. Watch the video below if you're still not convinced.

Buy :: Black River Killer EP

Track listing

1. Black River Killer
2. Silver Moon
3. Going Down
4. Shoulder Full of You
5. Preacher’s Sister’s Boy
6. Black Rock
7. Big Black Bird

[video] Sunset Rubdown on Pitchfork.tv

Sunset Rubdown - "Silver Moons"

Back in June, Sunset Rubdown played a 3-song set for Pitchfork.tv in New York City. Follow this link to see all the performances ("Silver Moons", "You go on Ahead", and "Coming to At Dawn"). And if you happen to live in Japan, Sunset Rubdown may be touring in a city near you.

Sunset Rubdown tour dates:

Oct 30: Tokyo, Japan – O-NEST
Nov 1: Kyoto, Japan – Club Metro
Nov 2: Osaka, Japan – Sunsui
Nov 4: Matsumoto, Japan – Alecx
Nov 5: Nagoya, Japan – Tokuzo
Nov 6: Tokyo, Japan – O-NEST

[news] Karen O and the Kids - Where The Wild Things Are Soundtrack

New Song "All is Love" from Karen O and the Kids

A new song from Spike Jonze's film adaptation of Where The Wild Things Are has surfaced on the WTWTA MySpace page. The song "All is Love" will appear on the forthcoming soundtrack composed by Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and a supergroup collaboration that O handpicked herself. To compose the music, O enlisted friends and fellow musicians she believed had a musical intuition that would bolster her intent to marry sound to vision. Dubbed Karen O and the Kids, these include Tristan Bechet (Services), Tom Biller (co-producer with Karen O and member of Afternoons), Bradford Cox (Deerhunter), Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age, The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs), Aaron Hemphill (Liars), Greg Kurstin (The Bird and the Bee), Jack Lawrence (The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs, The Greenhornes), Oscar Michel (Gris Gris), Imaad Wasif (New Folk Implosion, Alaska), Nick Zinner, (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and an untrained children’s choir. Quite the lineup!

Head over to the MySpace page to stream the song for yourself.

• Digital single of "All is Love" is out tomorrow (August 25).
• The Soundtrack is out September 29.
• Where The Wild Things Are in theaters October 16.

[news] White Denim - Euro Tour and US Fits Release Date

White Denim & Downtown Records to Release Fits in October

As reported earlier, White Denim has officially signed with US label Downtown Music and will release their debut US LP Exposion along with Fits as a single package, both on vinyl and CD. According to the band, this release will be available in "all good (and even many bad) record stores" on October 20th. We have also been assured that the double LP/CD will be affordably priced.

And if that wasn't good news by itself, White Denim are currently working on a new record that they hope will be available in early 2010. The band will be touring these new jams during their North American winter and spring tour. For those of you across the pond, look out for WD in a city near you (dates below).

White Denim tour dates (Fall Euro leg)

Aug 29 2009 12:00P	Leeds Festival	Leeds, UK
Aug 30 2009 12:00P	Reading Festival	Reading, UK
Sep 1 2009 8:00P	Molotow	Hamburg, Germany
Sep 2 2009 8:00P	Debaser	Malmo, Sweden
Sep 3 2009 8:00P	The Garage	Oslo, Norway
Sep 5 2009 8:00P	Debaser	Stockholm, Sweden
Sep 6 2009 8:00P	Vega	Copenhagen, Germany
Sep 7 2009 8:00P	Bang Bang Club	Berlin, Germany
Sep 9 2009 8:00P	Le Point	Paris, France
Sep 10 2009 8:00P	Doornroosje	Nijmegan, Netherlands
Sep 11 2009 8:00P	Tivoli de Helling	Utrecht, Netherlands
Sep 12 2009 8:00P	Vera	Groningen, Netherlands
Sep 13 2009 8:00P	Paradiso (small room)	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Sep 14 2009 8:00P	Gebaude 9	Cologne, Germany
Sep 16 2009 8:00P	Atomic Cafe	Munich, Germany
Sep 17 2009 8:00P	Rote Fabrik	Zurich, Switzerland
Sep 18 2009 8:00P	Fri-Son	Fribourg, Switzerland

[news] Plants and Animals - New Shows

Plants and Animals add a few more shows

Plants and Animals appear to have added some gigs to their summer lineup - all around the Toronto/Montreal area. Once they're finished with this, they'll be putting the final touches on their latest album. Here are the details:

It’s hot in Montreal, and the band is mostly scattered out towards places with swimmable bodies of water. They won’t be gone for long though. As summer’s dog days come to an end the Ps and As will be hitting stages again, starting with a nice slot at Toronto V fest on August 30th (which has just been moved downtown, by the way!). They’ve also added a couple intimate between-Toronto-and-Montreal dates over labour day weekend, which should prove to be pretty wild. Try and get out to these if you can, as they’ll be spending most September mixing the new album ….

Plants and Animals tour dates:
August 30 - TORONTO, ON - V-Fest
September 5 - PETERBOROUGH, ON - Montreal House
September 6 - WAKEFIELD, QC - The Black Sheep Inn

[review] Them Crooked Vultures @ Melkweg (8-19-2009)

Guest review of TCV secret show

As reported, Them Crooked Vultures performed their second live show to a small crowd in Amsterdam. Guest writer / friend of the site E-Rock has provided a behind-the-scenes review of the show for those of us State-side. Here's what he had to say about their set at Melkweg (August 19, 2009).

Them Crooked Vultures Groove the Melkweg, Amsterdam
submitted by E-Rock, guest Three Colours contributor

The anticipation was high, to say the least. This was only the second live performance from Them Crooked Vultures, the new collaboration between Josh Homme, Dave Grohl, and John Paul Jones. The show had only been announced two days prior from very limited sources (not including the Melkweg music venue’s website) with tickets going on sale exclusively from the box office the next day. I was fortunate enough to be one of 1500 in line yesterday afternoon to get one of those tickets.

While the expectations were great, no one really knew what to expect. Only a few low quality videos with very poor sound were online. In an effort to continue with this strict music control, cameras and recording devices were not allowed at the door. The group clearly set the tone with their opener, a rumbling groover that featured prominent slide base from John Paul Jones. The group weaved in and out of different styles the whole night, but if I had to describe the unifying theme of their sound, it would be “cerebral groove rock” (for lack of a better term). Their songs ranged widely, including progressive, technical pieces with irregular dynamics and time signatures; hypnotic, trance-inducing robot beats; swirling jam sessions with forays into psychedelia; and a couple shiny, straight-ahead rockers. It was all colorful mood music, and these guys are masters of the mood.

As expected, each of the members brought their own experiences to the table. The songs/structures are probably most similar to earlier Queens work, falling somewhere between Rated R and Songs for the Deaf. Homme contributed his signature guitar solos and throw-away lyrics that function to add another layer of texture to the music. The base and drums were also featured very prominently in all of the arrangements. Jones looked and sounded great, playing in several styles and often functioning as a “third guitar” in the mix. Grohl also changed it up a lot, showing what varied drumming and off-beat emphasis can do for moving a song forward.

The amount of musical talent on the stage was staggering. These guys qualify for supergroup status, with Grohl on drums, Jones on bass, Homme on lead guitar and vocals, and multi-instrumentalist Alain Johannes in tow for the tour on second guitar, including slide, and keys. In a sense, these guys are a musician’s band who are interested in making their own playlist and want to take you along with them. Nonetheless, Them Vultures really sounded tight, like they have been touring for months. They were obviously having a great time exploring new musical territory together, and there wasn’t any pretension on stage. Homme and Grohl clearly showed reverence to Jones, but they were all operating as equals and were having a blast not fronting their own projects for a change.

A couple of songs just didn’t land quite as well as the others in an otherwise highly impressive set. In particular, one bizarre interlude two-thirds of the way through the show included Homme putting down his guitar and singing and dancing to Grohl’s soft tropical beats while Jones played the keytar. I didn’t get it either, but they certainly had a sense of humor about it.

In all, an excellent show. If you can catch these guys in a small venue, I highly recommend it. I would also expect more out of these guys in the near term. They’re having far too much fun to stop touring any time soon. When the heavy grooving LP arrives, it is probably worth checking out.

[news] Elvis Perkins in Dearland - Doomsday EP

New EP from EPID

Elvis Perkins in Dearland has to be one of the most talented and under-appreciated bands making music right now, and it's a crying shame. EPID's self-titled release is an amazing album, and such an enjoyable listen; why aren't more people talking about it? Announced today, the band will be releasing an EP featuring the track "Doomsday" from their eponymously named LP, along with five never-before released tracks. The EP will be released on October 20, 2009, but you can pre-ordered it now. Elvis Perkins posted this statement about the upcoming release:

"We call this thing The Doomsday EP for obvious reasons, and its middle name to which it also answers is The EP of the Id. Being drawn to the many faces of the American strain it seems we have more or less subconsciously produced a collection speaking to/and or from several of them at once. It's a document of impulses sleeping egos and their superiors let pass to tape. I myself didn't know what these songs sounded like in the hands of EPID until they were processed and played back. You have a song that arrived like the rest of us by boat, a selection from the Sacred Harp, a rock 'n roll heralding the eternal advent of rock 'n roll, an ode to the soul of the undead and, finally (and firstly), two takes on a single song called Doomsday, one which comes from our March release and the other which leans in the direction of its original conception as something of a gospel number . And here they all are, risen from their cribs and graves, under one moonlight while their folks and undertakers look the other way."

Track listing:
Doomsday
Gypsy Davy
Stay Zombie Stay
Stop Drop Rock and Roll
Weeping Mary
Slow Doomsday

Be sure to catch Elvis Perkins in Dearland this Labor Day weekend at Bumbershoot 2009, one of many amazing shows in this year's line-up. More tour dates are posted below.

Fall tour dates:

Sep 3 2009 8:00P	Doug Fir Lounge	Portland, Oregon
Sep 5 2009 8:00P	Bumbershoot Festival	Seattle, Washington
Sep 12 2009 8:00P	B-Side Festival	Murcia
Sep 14 2009 8:00P	Sala El Tren	Granada
Sep 15 2009 8:00P	Black Note	Valencia
Sep 16 2009 8:00P	Sala Apolo	Barcelona
Sep 17 2009 8:00P	Matadero Culture Center	Elche (Alicante)
Sep 18 2009 8:00P	Sala Heineken	Madrid
Sep 20 2009 8:00P	Leffingeleure Festival	Leffinge
Sep 22 2009 8:00P	Scala	London
Sep 24 2009 8:00P	La Marquise	Lyon
Sep 25 2009 8:00P	Osophere Festival - Le Club	Strasbourg
Sep 26 2009 8:00P	Le Grand Mix	Tourcoing (Lille)
Sep 28 2009 8:00P	L’Alhambra	Paris
Oct 2 2009 8:00P	The Casbah	San Diego, California
Oct 3 2009 8:00P	Troubador	Los Angeles, California
Oct 4 2009 8:00P	Strictly Hardly Bluegrass Festival	San Francisco, California
Oct 31 2009 8:00P	Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble	Woodstock, New York
Nov 1 2009 8:00P	Mountain Stage	Charleston, West Virginia
Nov 3 2009 8:00P	The Southern	Charlottesville, Virginia
Nov 4 2009 8:00P	Grey Eagle Tavern and Music Hall	Asheville, North Carolina
Nov 5 2009 8:00P	The Earl	Atlanta, Georgia
Nov 6 2009 8:00P	Cafe 11	St. Augustine, Florida
Nov 7 2009 8:00P	The Social	Orlando, Florida
Nov 9 2009 8:00P	Club Downunder	Tallahassee, Florida
Nov 10 2009 8:00P	Bottletree	Birmingham, Alabama
Nov 11 2009 8:00P	The Parish	New Orleans, Louisiana
Nov 12 2009 8:00P	Walters on Washington	Houston, Texas
Nov 13 2009 8:00P	The Parish	Austin, Texas
Nov 14 2009 8:00P	House of Blues-Cambridge Room	Dallas, Texas
Nov 16 2009 8:00P	Sticky Fingerz Chicken Shack	Little Rock, Arkansas
Nov 20 2009 8:00P	Gargoyle Club	St. Louis, Missouri
Nov 21 2009 8:00P	TBD	Chicago, Illinois
Nov 30 2009 8:00P	Paradise Rock Club	Cambridge, Massachusetts
Dec 1 2009 8:00P	The Hi Hat	Providence, Rhode Island
Dec 2 2009 8:00P	Rock and Roll Hotel	WASHINGTON, Washington DC
Dec 3 2009 8:00P	First Unitarian Church	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 4 2009 8:00P	Bowery Ballroom	New York, New York
Dec 5 2009 8:00P	Music Hall of Williamsburg	Brooklyn, New York

Buy :: Elvis Perkins In Dearland
Pre-ordered :: Doomsday EP (Out 10-20-2009)

Them Crooked Vultures @ Melkweg Secret Show (8-19-2009)

Them Crooked Vultures to play second show in Amsterdam

After rocking out the Metro in Chicago on Lollapalooza weekend, Them Crooked Vultures will play their second concert to 1500 lucky fans who happened to catch wind of the somewhat secret show in Amsterdam tonight (August 19, 2009). To thwart any scalpers' plans to capitalize on such an event, the box office at Melkweg sold only one ticket per person (with mandatory photo ID) along with a wristband which must be worn to enter the show. With no mention of this gig on the band's website, it's clear that this one is to be kept under wraps.

More to come later...

[review] The Cave Singers @ Easy Street Records (8-18-2009)

The Cave Singers played Welcome Joy for Seattle

Residents of Seattle were treated with The Cave Singers' Welcome Joy record release party at Easy Street Records in Queen Ann tonight. Starting promptly at 7 pm, the band kicked the night off with the highly energetic "At The Cut" before embarking on a short 8-song set. If memory serves me correctly (which it rarely does these days), the band played 7 brand new songs for the packed house, and after a few minor technical difficulties, closed the night with Dancing On Our Graves b-side "Belmar." I'd approximate that 200-300 people showed up for the free show, and over half of that endured the uncomfortably hot indoor conditions for a chance to meet the band / obtain autographs after the set - not bad for a Tuesday night.

Congrats to the band for overcoming the sophomore slump and releasing yet another killer album. Probably most surprising is the added support of Amber Webber (Black Mountain & Lightning Dust) and Ashley Webber (Lightning Dust) on select tracks. Pick up a copy today (here).

Set list (8-18-2009)
At the Cut
Shrine
Leap
Beach House
Summer Light
I Don't Mind
VV
Belmar

[reminder] The Cave Singers In-Store Performance (8-18-2009)

The Cave Singers @ Easy Street Records

Just a friendly reminder: The Cave Singers will be playing an in-store set at Easy Street Records in Queen Ann tomorrow night (August 18, 2009). The show starts at 7:00 pm and requires no entrance fee. The band will also be releasing their second LP Welcome Joy. Be sure to catch them in this rare, intimate setting.

Also, The Cave Singers will be playing Bumbershoot on September 7 at 6:45pm (Starbucks Stage).

[video] Patrick Watson - "Fireweed"

Patrick Watson's "Fireweed"

Taking to heart the practice of quality over quantity, Secret City Records has found this to be the formula for success (and great music). Though the young, three-year-old record label supports merely five total bands, three have been shortlisted for the coveted Polaris Music Prize (Plants and Animals, Patrick Watson, & Miracle Fortress) over the short history of the award. Most notably of the three is singer/songcrafter Patrick Watson. He not only won the 2007 Polaris Music Prize for his beautifully arranged Close To Paradise, he's found his way on this year's shortlist yet again for his newest album Wooden Arms. Above is a video for the opening track, "Fireweed," which was directed by Watson himself. If you haven't listened to either of his albums mentioned above, I strongly recommend doing so.

Buy :: Close To Paradise
Buy :: Wooden Arms

[news] Alice in Chains - Black Gives Way To Blue

Alice in Chains (ver 2.0)

Well it's official, Alice in Chains will be releasing their new album Black Gives Way To Blue with the above cover art. Is it just me, or does the album title remind anyone else of Selsun Blue? The LP will be the band's first studio release in over 14 years, and with the replacement of Layne Staley (god rest his soul) with William DuVall, it begs the question of whether or not they should use the AiC namesake. Anyway, the album now has an official release date of September 29, 2009, and the band will be playing a number of already sold-out shows across North America. So far, AiC has teased us with the disturbing video of "A Looking In View" and the first radio single "Check My Brain." It's also been reported that the title track will feature the guest appearance by Sir Elton John?? You can check out the track listing for Black Gives Way To Blue below, as well as a 30 second promo video for "Check My Brain." Should AiC have let their legacy live on as the band that ended in its prime, or will they go on to write a second chapter of amazing hits? We'll find out soon enough - here's hoping for the latter...

Track listing:

1. All Secrets Known
2. Check My Brain
3. Last Of My Kind
4. Your Decision
5. A Looking In View
6. When The Sun Rose Again
7. Acid Bubble
8. Lessons Learned
9. Take Her Out
10. Private Hell
11. Black Gives Way To Blue

[news] Volcano Choir - Unmap

New Justin Vernon project

Bon Iver's Justin Vernon has teamed up with fellow Wisconsinites Jon Mueller, Chris Rosenau, Jim Schoenecker, and Daniel Spack (all from Collections of Colonies of Bees). The collaboration of these six musicians actually predates the critically acclaimed rise of Bon Iver, with original songwriting dating back to the summer of 2005, right around the time the Bees first toured with Vernon's previous band DeYarmond Edison. The band somewhat recently began recording music together back in November 2008, which will now be released as their debut full-length album Unmap under the moniker Volcano Choir. The LP is slated to drop via Jagjaguwar on September 22, 2009. The band has also shared a sampler track called "Island, IS." Check it out the Mp3 below, along with the album track listing.

Unmap

1. Husks And Shells
2. Seeplymouth
3. Island, IS
4. Dote
5. And Gather
6. Mbira In The Morass
7. Cool Knowledge
8. Still
9. Youlogy

[news] Them Crooked Vultures

aka Queens of the Lead Fighters

I'm not sure what to make of this - in fact, when I first read about this nearly four years ago I thought it was just a huge joke. But as of yesterday, we now have word that the supergroup comprised of Josh Homme, Dave Grohl, and John Paul Jones (yes, I'm not making this up) will be producing music together under the project title Them Crooked Vultures. According to the BBC, the band will be playing a show at the Metro in Chicago this Sunday (August 9). Homme, most notably known for his work with Queens of the Stone Age and Desert Sessions, has just recently finished up work producing The Arctic Monkeys third album Humbug.

This would not be the first time these dudes have teamed up for a musical collaboration - in 2001 Grohl and Homme recorded the QOTSA commercial success Songs for the Deaf. Jones also collaborated with Grohl, helping during the recording session of In Your Honor, the fifth Foo Fighters' fifth album. Said most poignantly, Grohl described the project in these words:

"The next project that I'm trying to initiate involves me on drums, Josh Homme on guitar, and John Paul Jones playing bass. That's the next album. That wouldn't suck."

I agree, while I don't know what to expect, I can at least count on it not "sucking." More news to follow...

UPDATE #1: A video has surfaced with some teaser tunes (if the video is legit). And according to some sources, the band's debut album may be title Never Deserved the Future, and will be released on October 23rd.

UPDATE #2: Looks like you can now purchase a t-shirt at the band's store for $30! I don't care whose band it is - for $30 it had better be cashmere or at least include a copy of their album.